Walls of Ivy
by Sarcastic Tofu
Summary: Gaara/OC. In a clan where nobility is decided at birth and the only difference between genius and insanity is the measure of success Sunagakure's demon container meets his equal.
1. Chapter one: Behind the Wall

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page including Taree. For refrence, this takes place three years before Beginnings.}**

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~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter One: Behind the wall_ ~

Taree Hayashi looked out over the sprawling village before her. It was a maze of small earthen homes and buildings; the only unique structures were the large wind turbines and giant glass structure in the center of town. From her hill top perch it seemed so delicate and small in comparison to the large walls that surrounded the village hidden in the grass [Kusagakure]. She let out a soft sigh. If it were not for the carnage and despair the crumbling ivy-covered walls barricaded its citizens from, it could almost be considered peaceful.

"Taree-chan pay attention!"

The ivy haired girl came out of her contented daze; her ever-present carnation changing from an eggshell white to a burnt orange color.

"What the fuck do you want Sanyu?!"

The grey haired academy teacher scowled at the seven year old girl.

"You are to call me Sanyu-sensei and were you even aware of the class discussion?!?"

"Hell no."

Sanyu clenched her hands into fists, attempting not to lose her temper. Although Taree Hayashi was the youngest in her senior class and had the best grades; she was the most bad-mannered and almost always in trouble. She had been transferred into the graduating class only a month ago and already Sanyu was counting down the days until graduation day.

"If you care so little about the geography lesson, why don't you explain the four most important buildings or areas in Kusagakure to the class?" she hissed through clenched teeth.

"The four most important buildings or areas in Kusagakure are: the Kusakage's building, the wind turbine fields, the greenhouse and the Great Wall of Kusagakure", said Taree in a calm clear voice. "The Kusakage's building is where all legal and military action are planned. The wind turbine fields are where all of the electric energy for the village is generated. The green house is essential to all medical and biological research in Kusagakure. The Great Wall is all that stands between our village and total annihilation by the invading armies."

Sanyu frowned. Taree's answer, as always, was correct.

"Correct, but next time keep your mind on the lesson."

"Whatever," mumbled Taree sounding utterly bored.

As Sanyu restarted the lesson the Academy bell tolled faintly in the distance. The teacher gave an exasperated groan then yelled, "Class dismissed!"

Quickly the group students and their teacher grabbed their school bags and began rushing home except for a small cluster around Taree.

An older boy red-headed boy, twelve or so Taree guessed, and his rabble surrounded her.

He sneered than spat out, "Mouthing off to the teacher _should_ get you suspended freak, too bad they won't kick you out because you're so _smart_."

"Fuck off", growled Taree.

"Smart-aleck!"

"Freak!"

"Monster!"

"Vine-head!"

"Bad weed!"

"Demon!" shouted the mob loudly.

Thorned vines suddenly leapt from beneath Taree's long olive green sleeves at the crowd that surrounded her; clearing a path out.

"Get out of the way or she'll strangle you with her evil vines!" screamed a rabble member.

Taree quickly escaped the horde through the opening and ran as fast as she could to the green house. For it was her only place of sanctuary.

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**{Please review or vote in the poll on my page!}**


	2. Chapter two: The Greenhouse

**{Hopefully this chapter will be a bit longer… Rant- This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page.}**

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~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter Two: The Greenhouse_~

As Taree darted through the village streets, her breathing calmed, her pace slowed and the thorn covered vines receded back into her sleeves. She had lost the mob for now.

Her aqua eyes quickly surveyed the surrounding streets then the skyline above. The giant glass greenhouse that easily towered over the entirety of Kusagakure was only a bit further up the crowded street.

She ducked into one of the shadowy allies that zigzagged behind the larger buildings. Her thoughts began to wander once more as she glanced at the neon colored graffiti that coded the mostly brick walls displaying in boxy text '_end the war_!' and '_down with the Kusakage_!'

_Will this damn war ever end? _Thought the seven year old as she weaved through the ally ways.

It seemed as though the war with the Hidden Craftsman village would never end. It had been going on now for four years and the sound of bombs exploding on the other side of the Great Wall had become part of the usual hustle and bustle of Kusagakure.

Finally Taree reached her destination. She peeked out of the shadows then dashed through the polished chrome doors into the enormous greenhouse.

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Taree stepped into the building feeling relatively calm; that is, until she saw the new secretary sitting at the check in desk. Instead of the old lady who was usually on duty at this time, sat an energetic Chunin probably in her late teens. The elderly woman was a breeze to sneak past into the inner laboratories, but this new intern would be a bit of a problem.

"May I help you miss?" asked the intern cheerfully.

"I'm here for my doctor's appointment", lied Taree, "I'm already really late."

"Then I'll help you find your doctor at once" the teen smiled.

"Err…I can find him myself."

"No really I insist!"

"I don't want to waste your precious time."

"It's no trouble at all!" said the intern as she stood up and led Taree down a sterile white hallway.

Taree grumbled as the intern yanked her along through the building. _Now if I just had a charge of dynamite…_ Suddenly they came to an abrupt halt outside of one of the offices. The name plate on the door read _**Dr. Hachiro Jumonji**_. The intern began to knock franticly on the door and yelled "Dr. Jumonji! Someone's here for an appointment!"

A muffled reply came through the simple oak door.

"One minute Asako!"

In a few moments the doctor came out of his office fuming.

"First you people yell at me to get my paperwork done then you bring patients to me right and left during my only free hour! Make up your minds!"

The intern frowned, now on the verge of tears.

"I-I'm so sorry Dr. Jumonji-sensei!"

Dr. Jumonji muttered a few violent curses as he jerked Taree into his office and slammed the door.

"Psychopathic Hippocrates", he grumbled.

He was tall, in his twenties Taree guessed, and had auburn hair that obstructed his line of vision. Taree watched him curiously as he began to dig through the mountains of paperwork that littered his small office. After about five minutes he finally found a blank pad of paper and a fairly pointy pencil.

"Name?"

"-Taree Hayashi."

"Age?"

"-Seven, my birthday was two weeks ago."

"Blood type?"

"-A positive."

"Do you have a kekkei-genkai?"

Taree nodded. "My ability is to speed up and slow down plant growth, but I also have a trait unique to myself only."

Dr. Jumonji looked up from his note pad in interest. "What trait, could you please show me?"

Taree's eyes narrowed and her carnation altered from burnt orange to ebony black.

"No."

The doctor raised an eyebrow, "Why not?"

Taree glared at him. He was no different than the others, the moment she showed him her ability she would be shunned by him for merely existing or exploited for medical research; she knew it.

"I promise not to tell."

The ivy haired child looked him directly in the eye. She rolled up her sleeves. Her arms were covered with brown-black marks evenly spaced about two inches apart. A moment later green buds sprouted from the seed-like marks then quickly grew into thick thorn covered vines.

"What on Earth…"

The vines moved as if on their own, gently brushing against the walls, ceiling and piles of paperwork that filled the crammed office.

The doctor dropped his notepad then cowered against the file cabinet behind him.

"S-Stay back!" He shrieked; his eyes full of terror "Don't come any closer!"

"_Traitor_", whispered Taree.

The vines surged at the trembling doctor; quickly seizing him and binding him.

Taree left the disaster zone of an office to the sound of Dr. Jumonji's muffled screams and headed towards the center of the building.

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After about fifteen minutes, Taree final found the center of the building. It was large four story conservatory that resembled a miniature jungle. As she stepped into the moist tropical atmosphere she felt a wave of calm come over her. Her carnation swiftly altered its coloring once more, this time from ebony to a pale white.

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It was more than two hours before Taree was disturbed from her daze by the stifled shouting in the hallway.

"-And we found Jumonji in his office all tied up!"

"Was he alive!?!"

"Yes, but in deep shock. They're treating him in the emergency room right now.-"

"_Crap!_" muttered Taree as she slowly stood up. She glanced around. The shouting in the hallway had died down but there were still too many people to be able to leave the conservatory unseen. Her eyes glimpsed the glass ceiling. _My escape!_

She summoned chakra to her feet then climbed the tallest tree to the ceiling. Once there, she pulled out a sharpened kunai blade and began to scratch one of the large glass tiles loose. In hardly any time at all, the tile was detached from the rest of the ceiling. Taree cautiously pushed the tile out onto the rooftop then climbed through the hole she had created. Carefully she replaced the glass tile in the roof. She was out.

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As Taree jumped from rooftop to rooftop she wondered if the greenhouse staff would ever notice the loose glass tile. Soon she reached the roof of her apartment building and climbed down two floors to her own dwelling. The bright red front door was still locked as she'd left it that morning although some papers were taped to it. She ripped them down then unlocked the door. Inside her apartment was dark and in dire need of a good cleaning. She turned on the single lamp, dropped the papers and her school bag down on the boxy black kitchen table then began to rummage through the kitchen cabinets for dinner. She managed to find a few tins of canned vegetables, an empty box of corn flakes, and her last cup of instant ramen. She restacked the canned vegetables, through out the empty box and then commenced warming up some water for the ramen. _I need to get to the damn store soon_, she considered.

While the water boiled, Taree skimmed through the documents that had been taped to her door.

**____________________________________**

_**Hayashi, thanks for paying your rent on time for once! Maybe you'll make a habit of it eventually. Don't forget you're invited to my apartment tomorrow as a late birthday present!**_

_**-Midori Akimoto (your land lord)**_

_**___________________________________ **_

_**___________________________________**_

_**Dear Taree Hayashi,**_

_**You are formally invited to be in the festival dance at the coming cherry blossom [Sakura] festival. Please R.S.V.P. in room 306 at the Ninja Academy.**_

_**Sincerely, **_

_**Chinatsu Etsuko**_

_**___________________________________**_

_**___________________________________**_

_**Interested in farming techniques?**_

_**Come to building 347 in the 14**__**th**__** district for a day in the orchards!**_

_**___________________________________**_

Taree pitched the last two pieces of paper but retaped the note from her landlord onto the kitchen window. She wasn't going to go to some stupid dance, not now, not ever and she certainly didn't care about farming techniques; she was going to graduate from the Ninja Academy this coming June! The sound of her water kettle hissing woke her from her thoughts. She hastily took the lime green kettle off of the stove and prepared the instant ramen. And with a brief "Itadakimasu!" she dug into her dinner.

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Promptly after finishing her dinner, Taree flopped face first onto her bed. Tomorrow couldn't possibly be any worse than today.

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**{Thank you so much for the reviews! Reviews make happy authors who update more frequently (and are less sarcastic).}**


	3. Chapter three: The Academy

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings****first (possibly, but since it's a prequel it would probably still make sence)! Alas, I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page and minor characters in this story.}**

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~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter Three: The Academy _~

**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**

Taree sleepily blinked at her digital clock hanging lopsided on her bedroom wall next to several medical and botany diagrams and a few faded photographs.

According to her calculations she had roughly two hours before she had to be at the academy.

She sluggishly slid out of bed onto the cold hard wood floor. Next the seven year old began to hunt around her room for clean clothes. Eventually, after rediscovering a box of dead batteries and many other things for which she had no use she slid on a clean sea green long sleeve shirt and standard ninja shorts. Subsequently she wandered into the dark dusty kitchen in search of a hair brush and upon finding said brush spent fifteen solid minutes 'de-ratifying' her wavy ivy green hair.

"Crap", hissed Taree as she considered that the only provisions in the apartment were three tins of canned vegetables. At once she began trying to open a tin with a very rusty can-opener. No go, the small device was a dud.

As her anger rose the student began to beat the stupid tin against the dust covered floor in a desperate attempt to open her breakfast.

"FUCK YOU!" shrieked the seven year old as she threw the canned broccoli at a chipping white plaster wall, severely denting it in the process and generating a large hole in the flaking plaster.

The ivy haired girl then picked up the damaged tin and the two remaining cans and furiously shoved her kitchen window open.

"**LOOK OUT BELOW**!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she began chucking the cans at the pedestrians beneath.

Civilians screamed as the metal containers hit the pavement below, the contents exploding on impact as they met the concrete pavement.

Taree then slammed the window shut hastily as the crowd began to return fire. The seven year old breathed a sigh of relief as the soft pat-pat of produce against the four-story apartment building could be heard. At least this time she had remembered to close the window.

_I guess I'll have to find some damn breakfast on the way to school,_ thought the student as she grabbed her school bag and headed out the door.

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Once at street level the ivy haired girl began to survey the damage. The outer walls of the apartment building, normally a red-brown color, where now covered in a Technicolor of fruits and other produce giving it a look akin to an abstract sculpture. Taree rather liked it; she should piss off the nearby civilians more often.

After considering this the academy student took off over the neighboring rooftops, jumping from building only pausing long enough to briefly identify land marks on her route to school.

Briefly on her right was the huge strangely arched library where she was constantly yelled at for writing in the margins of the books and swearing at irritating patrons, yet always encouraged to return by the elder librarians.

Taree next passed a local café, one of the village post offices, and several other buildings from which she was 'banned unless vital to a mission (for the good of Kusagakure)'.

The small child finally stopped above one of the few places she was allowed to be under no conditions or promises, the open-air produce stand owned by Mr. Kyo. She wasn't fond of him in any way, shape or form, but he was one of the only farmers who would allow her to be within one hundred meters of their stand.

"Good morning Mr. Kyo!" called the student from the rooftop.

The elderly farmer quickly glanced up, "You forgot to get groceries again didn't you?" he retorted.

A shrug, "How'd you guess?"

"You're semi-polite when you're starving", he replied defiantly.

Taree frowned, "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

The grey haired farmer smiled before answering.

"It means next time remember to bring money when you're hungry. Your carelessness is running me out of business. Don't come back until you have your allowance from the village council."

"Screw you!"

"I've heard worse."

The seven year old then angrily continued onward towards the Ninja Academy, mentally adding the old man's stand to her hit list.

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The sound of chatter and children playing entered Taree's ears as she approached the Kusagakure Ninja Academy. A short distance from the school the younger children, mostly preschoolers and kindergarteners and a few first graders, were crawling over the neon plastic jungle gym, swinging dangerously high on the swings and feudally attempting to build sloppy sand castles in the sand that evenly coated the playground. On the far edge of the swings the second graders mostly sat in small clumps of three to four people whispering intensely to one another. Third and fourth graders hung out along the brick wall that enclosed the academy, chatting and finishing their undone homework. You had to squint hard to see them, but the fifth graders hidden among their younger classmates were playing with the little kids or camouflaging themselves in with the third years. And finally the sixth graders, the graduating class, stood as if synchronized in one large group practicing their Shuriken aim on one of the dirt brown school walls, commenting occasionally on one another's aim.

Taree then felt a swift yank on her right sleeve, quickly pulling her back to reality.

The ivy haired seven year old looked down to see who was bugging her this early in the morning when she was already in a foul mood.

"Is it true that you're in the big kids class?" came a young voice pronouncing all the 't's as 'd's. She was probably four or five years old and about average height for her age. Short sandy blond hair brushed past the child's ears and was partially pinned up by two shiny black hair clips. Her pale green eyes sparkled happily as she repeated her question.

"So are you really in the big kid class, or are the other kids lying?"

The elder child took a deep breath to calm herself down then answered, "Yeah, I'm in the sixth grade."

"What's your name?" inquired the girl as she placed a small hand into one of the pockets of her light blue play dress.

"What's yours?"

"I asked first!"

"I asked second."

"Fine, my name is Mai Sasaki. Now you tell!"

The elder student let out a short sigh. "My name is Taree Hayashi."

But just as Mai was about to drill the frustrated Taree with questions, the school bell began to toll.

"See you later Taree-chan!" called the kindergartener as she ran after her classmates who were now being lead away by their teacher.

The seven year old raised an eyebrow as she watched the kindergarteners depart.

_Note to self: avoid Mai at all cost._

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Taree quickly ran through her mental list of classes:

First hour- Biology,

Second hour- Taijutsu,

Third hour- World History,

Lunch,

Fourth hour- Ninjutsu & chakra control,

Fifth hour- Genjutsu

Sixth hour- Study hall; then she could finally get out of here!

She quickly entered the first floor of the academy racing Biology class as fast as she could, but to no avail. The door was locked. It was her teacher, Haro-sensei's, game that the last person to class was always locked out of the classroom, whether they were on time or not. And about ninety-five percent of the time it was Taree who was trapped in the hallway.

The seven year old angrily kicked the door as she twisted the knob feudally.

"Open the damn door Haro-sensei before I break it down!"

A muffled reply came from within the classroom.

"That's funny I thought I heard something", remarked her teacher teasingly.

"OPEN THE DOOR ASSHOLE!"

"Nope, must be my ears."

Taree lost any patience she had left and whipped out a blank piece of chakra paper from her book bag. She carefully wrote down the correct kanji and seals then stuck it to the door. After taking a few steps back she remarked in a quiet tone, "Katsu!"

The paper bomb exploded taking the door and a large portion of the surrounding wall with it.

As the angry ivy haired child entered the Biology class and plopped into her seat, the other students gaped at her. Seven year olds should NOT be able to make and set off paper bombs at school.

"I see you're on time for class for once Hayashi-san", remarked Haro-sensei as he looked over the destroyed door frame.

Taree smacked he head into her desk, her stomach growling; this was going to be a long, long day.

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**{Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while; I've been really busy with 'Beginnings' and 'Permafrost'. Thanks for the review and praise Flame Jnr, Usagi323 and AkatsukisArtist! *squeezes until their faces turn blue* You're so awesome!}**


	4. Chapter four: Roots

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first (sort of, but not really; feel free to disregard that bit)! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page and minor characters in this one.}**

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~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter Four: Roots _~

As Taree sat atop the crumbling brick wall that surrounded the Ninja Academy she came to an important realization. Not eating breakfast or lunch was about the stupidest mistake one could make on a school day.

_I think my stomach just ate itself_, thought the seven year old as she stared at the ground below her.

It was at this moment that someone walked up to the base of the wall and waved to her.

"Hi Taree-chan!" called the small sandy haired girl.

Oh no, it was that kid again, Mai something-or-other.

Taree's ever-present carnation changed color from a dull grey to a muted orange.

The elder student narrowed her aqua blue eyes at the kindergartner who was now desperately trying to climb the five foot tall brick barricade with her small hands.

"What the hell are you doing?" she said, saying it more as a statement than a question.

The child stopped and looked up. "You're all alone up there so I was coming to sit with you", she chirped happily.

"Don't bother", hissed Taree, willing the child to go away.

But apparently the kindergartner couldn't take a hint and continued trying to scale the brick wall.

Taree let out a sigh as she looked down at the small child. Within her mind she began arguing whether to help her up, or cuss her out. She decided on the first one. After all, the last time she cussed out a pre-k kid she got a whole week of in-school suspension, which had completely sucked.

Sturdy bending green vines surges from her sea green sleeves carefully surrounding the sandy haired child then lifting her up onto the wall before receding.

Angry and frightened glares where shot at the ivy haired girl by members of the sixth grade rabble who had occupied a nearby swing set, but they said nothing. There were teachers around.

Mai now stared at her with wide eyes.

"**That was so awesome**!" exclaimed the child.

The elder student raised an eyebrow as her carnation again altered from muted orange to a bright lemony tone. Little kids were easy to amuse.

"How did you do that?" asked the kindergartner as she reached for a peanut butter sandwich from within her pale pink backpack.

"Do what?"

"Your flower changed color. Is it a magic trick?"

"No it's not a fucking magic trick it's part of my kekkei genkai!"

The five year old cocked her head to one side and blinked giving a perfect 'what the hell' expression.

"Please don't tell me you don't know what a damn kekkei genkai is."

"Fine, then I won't tell you that I don't know what a thing-a-ma-jig is."

Taree smacked her palm to her forehead. What were they teaching little kids these days?!

"Kekkei genkai are abilities that only people of a certain heritage have; hence why they are often called 'blood line traits'. For example members of the Hyuga clan have the ability of three-hundred sixty degree vision and to be able to see a person's chakra network."

Mai gave her an amazed gaze. "So does everyone in your family have pretty flowers like you?"

A cloud seemed to pass over Taree's face as she heard the little girl's question. It seemed so alike yet unalike from the time she first met her relatives who lived in the country sides which surrounded Kusagakure.

-----------------_Four Years Ago_---------------

_A three year old Taree glared at her older cousin, Botan, who stood smirking at her, surrounded by many of her ten other cousins. His pale pink eyes watched her teasingly and the bright pink Peony which was perched naturally in his coffee colored hair seemed to perk up._

"_So how did an Aster and a Sweet Pea wind up with a Carnation like you?" he said mischievously. _

_The other Hayashi children wondered also, how could Taree's parents whose flora was known for their quiet helping nature have a child with the carnation? It was common knowledge among the Hayashi that those with Carnations were known to be extremely temperamental and reluctant to work with others. The last Carnation in the clan had become a missing-nin before the age of fourteen. _

"_Shut the fuck up Peony!" shouted the toddler angrily. _

_The other children gasped at the tiny ivy haired girl, appalled by her language._

_The elder boy suppressed his laughter, "I don't need to be quiet when you're just proving me right."_

_The toddler's already crimson flower seemed to grow an even darker shade of red. _

"_You fucking bastard!"_

_-------_

_From the field where the elder members of the clan sat they could hear the angry shouting of the clan's second youngest member. The head of the clan sent a fierce look at Taree's parents. _

"_Is your child always such a disgrace to our clan?" he demanded darkly his black violet seeming to emphasize his point. _

_The two scarlet haired Jounin who sat before him and the council seemed to grow quiet at this comment before the male spoke. _

"_She isn't always like this-" he began to say, but was interrupted by a woman seated beside the clan leader._

"_We've all heard the horror stories of the things that kid has done in the capital. Sabotaging wind turbines, breaking into the Kusakage's office, and that's just the beginning. That kid is a menace to society and the Hayashi clan!"_

"_Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?" spoke another enraged relative._

_Taree's mother silently pulled out a summoning scroll from her robes and handed it to the clan leader._

"_This should explain my daughter's actions."_

_The dark haired man quickly ran a finger along the edge of the scroll to release the large pile of paper stored within. He and the other clan members then began skimming the documents with shocked looks on their faces. _

"_There was no way this could be possible…" said an elderly man his voice shaking._

"_It is actually quite possible," the scarlet haired Jounin replied calmly._

_Before the group laid piles of cellular diagrams and written reports done by the temperamental three year old and at the center of the now disorganized piles sat an opened folder: 'Hayashi, Taree's IQ testing data'._

_More then twenty pairs of eyes were focused on one number at the top of the page. 187, the toddler who so many wanted to disown from the clan had scored 187 on an IQ test which had been deigned for Chunin. There was absolutely no way this angry little kid was even remotely normal._

_---------_

_Why were they all staring at her like that? Why did the rest of the clan look at her like she was some sort of freak? She was still the same person…She was still Taree…_

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Taree spoke to the kindergartner quietly, "We all have flowers, but we are all different."

Mai smiled, "So what are your parents' flowers?"

In an instant Taree's bright yellow carnation changed to a tint blue-grey, the color of a stormy sky.

_An explosion…a scream…darkness…_

"My parents were killed by the Craftsman village."

A sad look crossed the five year old's face. She then plucked a peach from her lunch and sat it on the wall next to Taree before she hopped down from the wall after her class who were now filing back into the school.

"I'll see you later Taree-chan!" called the sandy haired child over her shoulder.

The ivy haired girl looked down at the peach placed near her on the wall.

'_Lunch_', thought the seven year old half heartedly.

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**{Thanks for the reviews without them I tend to procrastinate! (Starts writing the next chapter)**

**Incase you were wondering:**

**Botan- means Peony**

**Taree- means bending branch**

**Hayashi- means forest**

**Mai- means dance or brightness depending on where you look**

**Sasaki- means wren.}**


	5. Chapter five: Midori

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first (sort of, but not really; feel free to disregard that bit)! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page and minor characters in this one.}**

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~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter Five: Midori _~

Taree quickly rapped the tips of her fingers against the scratched surface of her school desk.

_**Tick tick tick**_

The diminutive hands of the black square faced clock seemed to barely move as the ivy haired girl stared impatiently at them.

_Less than two minutes left now_, thought the student to herself, _Just two, you can wait that long_.

But as the substitute teacher rambled on about exploding tags and other useful ninja weapons, Taree's patience dwindled even further. The substitute teacher, who wore dark green oval shaped glasses and looked to be in his early twenties, glanced at the child briefly as he explained about how exploding tags were made.

"Could you explain to us the necessary seals to make type one exploding tags Hayashi-san?" he asked in an uninterested tone of voice, as if even he was bored by this topic.

This was when the seven year old lost any patience she had left.

"**Why in the name of hell would I care about fucking seals for explosive tags?! **

The replacement teacher and a large majority of the class stared wide eyed and open mouthed at the small ivy haired girl who had just cussed out the teacher. The eerie silence lasted for another thirty-eight seconds until the clear tolling of the school bell echoed through the academy's halls. In seconds the stuffy third-floor classroom was emptied of its prisoners, leaving the substitute to gaze after them.

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As Taree tried to squeeze her way through the crowded streets outside the ninja academy she felt a small tug on her left sleeve. She slowly looked down at the sandy haired kindergartner who was now trying to pull her down the roadway.

It was Mai…again…oh shit…

The younger child looked up as she nearly crashed into a civilian, "Where are we going?"

"More importantly, **what **are you doing here?" she asked in a quiet deadly tone.

"I'll answer your question if you answer mine first."

"**No**."

"Please?"

"**No**."

"But that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, get used to it."

Mai sulked for three blocks as the two walked through the teeming dusty streets of the capital city.

The seven year old let out a sigh.

"We're meeting my landlord."

The kindergartner gave a confused look as she asked, "Why?"

Another sigh.

"My birthday was on July fourteenth and she refuses to let me forget about it."

A sunny smile crossed the sandy haired little girl's face.

"Happy belated Birthday Taree-chan!"

Taree shot her an icy glare. Why'd people have to care about birthdays so much?

----------------------------

By the time the two children had reached the fifth floor of the clay blue building where Taree's landlord lived, the ivy haired child had become annoyed with by Mai's constant questions.

"Do you have any siblings?" asked the kindergartner as the seven year old began to roughly knock on the door.

"No", replied Taree as she waited as tolerantly as possible for someone to come to the door.

There was a soft click as someone fumbled with the lock before opening the lemony yellow front door. A woman with auburn hair tied into a loose braid stepped into the hallway with a wet paintbrush carefully tucked over one ear and a sleeve of her paint splattered shirt hanging empty where her right arm used to be. Her warm golden-brown eyes seemed to beam as she recognized the ivy haired seven year old.

"I see you got my letter Taree, but who's this little munchkin?"

The smaller girl lit up at this. "I'm Mai Sasaki from Taree-chan's school Ms. Landlord!"

The artist raised an eyebrow at this comment.

"No one's christened me as 'Ms. Landlord' in years, I'm Midori Akimoto", she replied as she opened the door for the two children to come in.

-----------------------

Mai was thoroughly surprised as she entered Midori's apartment. The taupe walls were covered by canvases each creating a unique scene in warm acrylic paint and near a large window which overlooked the busy streets of the capital was propped a wooden easel and partially finished canvas. It definitely wasn't what one brought to mind when they pictured a landlord's house.

"So what should we make for dinner?" asked the auburn haired artist as she quickly began to clear away several crushed paint containers teetering on the edge of the bright red kitchen table.

"Ramen", replied Taree quickly.

"Do you ever eat anything besides ramen?" inquired the auburn haired woman critically.

"Ramen builds character!"

"It does not! And besides a tenant told me about the disaster you caused this morning, consider this blackmail."

Mai giggled as the artist and the seven year old stuck out their tongues at each other.

"What about Miso soup?"

The artist grinned, "Sounds good as long as long _someone_ doesn't get pissed off and decide to dump it on the civilians in the roadway."

The seven year old shot a death glare at her landlord.

"I hate you."

"When I care, I'll let you know", replied Midori.

------------------------

It took three tries before the trio finally managed cook Miso soup without burning it or adding the wrong ingredients and exhausted most of Midori's food supplies; but in the end it tasted pretty good.

"I'm hereby kidnapping the leftovers", remarked Taree as she inhaled the soup.

"Oh really?" replied the artist sarcastically.

Mai nervously moved her spoon around her bowl before asking in a nearly inaudible tone, "Can ask a question Midori-chan?"

"Depends", said the auburn haired artist as she sipped her soup, "It'd only be fair if I get to ask you a question too."

"Ok", answered the sandy haired kindergartner more calmly, "What happened to your right arm?"

Midori nodded knowingly as if she had been asked this question hundreds of times.

"It happened about four years ago….."

--------------------------

**{(Starts work on the next chapter) Thanks for the reviews! And on two side notes**

**1. For the sake of this story, the Kusagakure ninja academy runs year round except for a few weeks in the fall and spring for harvests and planting seasons.**

**2. Midori means 'green'}**


	6. Chapter six: Lost & Found

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings****first (sort of, but not really; feel free to disregard that bit)! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page and minor characters in this one.**

**Note: **_**The first part of this chapter is a flash back/story and is in Italics.**_

**Takumigakure: the Hidden Craftsman Village**

**Ka-san: mom (informal)**

**Tou-san: dad (informal)}**

-----------------------------------------

~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter six: Lost and Found _~

_As a thick gust of dusty wind blew over the desolate trenches of the western front, Midori squinted at the seemingly endless land that lay between the shinobi of Kusagakure and, far in the distance, the shinobi and military of Takumigakure. In the few months since the war had begun, open combat and the explosions of paper bombs had removed the grass and greenery from the battle field giving it the look of a barren waste land. _

_A group of shadows darted across the empty earth, the glint of their Kusagakure headbands being the only thing that differentiated their own medic scouts from the enemy._

_Midori quickly clutched her sketch book to herself and leaned against one of the earthen walls of the gully as a team of medics readied an empty space for any survivors the scouting team had been able to find. _

_The four scouts quickly approached holding someone on a stretcher between them._

"_He's semi-conscious and bleeding from his left leg and shoulder", reported a scout diligently._

_Another medic nodded then began bandaging the shinobi's wounds._

_As Midori held one side of the stretcher still she saw the injured ninja whisper something._

"_What was that?"_

_But as his whispers were drowned out as a high pitched siren ripped through the trench._

"_Bomb raid! Everyone take cover!"_

_Midori only had five seconds to lean towards a dirt wall before fire erupted around her and everything went black._

_----_

_Midori finally awoke to a piercing pain in her right arm. She tried to sit up, but the blinding florescent lights of the Kusagakure military hospital seemed to stab at her sore eyes. A female doctor with a pale pink Aster perched naturally in her wavy scarlet hair quickly came to her bedside. _

"_What happened?" mumbled the injured artist groggily._

_The doctor's pale blue eyes seemed gloomy as she answered._

"_You were grazed by a paper bomb. The damage to your right side was extensive and we had to amputate your right arm."_

_The amputee glared at the ceiling. She had just passed the Chunin Exam only to be drafted into the front lines of war with their neighboring nation and lose her right arm. Just frickin' perfect._

"_At least I'm a lefty", muttered Midori._

_Suddenly from a far corner of the large hospital room a three year old girl ran over to the amputee clutching a large pad of paper. The ivy haired child stood on her tip-toes to give Midori the sketch pad._

"_Tou-san managed to get this back for you. You should definitely become an artist when Ka-san lets you out of this fucking place!"_

_The doctor scowled at the small child. _

"_Taree you know you're not supposed to swear!" she scolded._

_The child stuck out her tongue at her mother as the carnation perched in her wavy ivy hair turned a bright lemony color._

"_Well excuse me for giving someone a damn compliment!" _

_The scarlet haired doctor sighed causing her flower to look slightly wilted, "You'll have to excuse my daughter she has an aptitude for coarse language." _

_Midori smiled, "No big, Doctor…?"_

"_Hayashi, Shuiro..."_

----------------------------------------

It was at this moment that Mai, who had drifted into slumber a short while ago, let out a loud snore.

Midori shot the sandy haired girl a mild glare then sighed.

"Better take her home Taree; we don't want her parents to freak out."

"Well duh."

At this the seven year old quietly slid out of her chair and carefully nudged the sleeping child out of her own bright green chair so that the elder girl could carry her piggy-back style. The artist softly crept to front of the apartment and opened the lemony yellow front door. As Taree and Mai left the artist whispered, "Don't worry, I'll bring the leftovers to your place and happy belated Birthday."

The ivy haired child gave a nod then cautiously stepped from the apartment into the dark hall.

_Damn it! She always remembers my fucking Birthday_, thought Taree to herself.

-------------------------------------

Along the way partially lit by flood lamps Taree silently told herself the end of Midori's story.

After she had been released from the hospital Midori had been forcibly retired from shinobi work. Since the new amputee could no longer be a shinobi she turned to art. Although the artist later became the Hayashi's land lord the two doctors and their daughter became good friends until the doctors' unexpected deaths.

As the bright red lanterns of the Sasaki complex came into view the ivy haired girl gave a silent cheer. No angry parents waiting at the tarnished gates, thank god.

"Which way to Mai's house?" Taree asked the guard who stood propped against the stone wall which surrounded the complex.

"I'll take her", replied the light haired guard, "Her parents are mechanics at the wind turbine fields and won't be back until tomorrow morning."

The seven year old nodded then carefully transferred the kindergartner to her relative.

"'Night!" called the ivy haired girl as she disappeared into the shadows of the main roadway.

The guard gave a small wave after her fading figure.

_So Mai-chan finally made a friend_, he thought.

-----------------------------------

**{I updated this week's chapter a bit early, so hopefully I can get started on Akio's and Taru's prequels. Please review!**

**Also: **

**Taree's mom's name Shuiro means 'scarlet'.**

**And I have one week before Final Exams so wish me luck! *starts studying*}**


	7. Chapter seven: Lights out

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first (sort of, but not really; feel free to disregard that bit)! Also I do not own Naruto; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page, minor characters in this one and the plot.}**

-----------------------------------------

~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter seven: Lights out _~

A cold wind blew in the night that masked the sleeping village causing the quiet chime of bells to echo like unseen ghosts. Taree shivered despite her long sleeves as she stepped into a pool of lamp light on her way back to her apartment. Why did she have to always have such a lousy sense of time? She wondered as she scanned the horizon for her apartment building.

The darkened structure was a barely visible speck in the distance.

_There is no way I'll be able to get home before the fucking lights go out_, the ivy haired girl grumbled to herself. After all, there was less than five minutes before the street lamps would turn of as they did every night in the blackout drills which left the village in total darkness and invisible to the enemy shinobi lurking in the trenches on the outer border of Kusagakure.

Taree quickly darted through the empty cobble streets as she neared the large shadowy building looming ahead of her. In the dimming lamp light she could barely read the large wooden sign that swayed lightly in the nighttime air which declared in polished looking golden kanji, '_Kusagakure Public Library; seventh branch_'. The seven year old hastily climbed the library steps two at a time as she neared the large wooden doors and upon arrival began to fiddle with the iron lock. No good. It was securely fastened and had a large key hole.

The ivy haired child rapidly formed several hand signs then placed her right hand on the lock.

"Ninja Art: Escape Artist Jutsu!"

In seconds her glowing green chakra filled the empty key hole in the pad lock and a loud 'click' was heard.

Taree sighed with relief as she pulled the opened lock from the door and entered the deserted library.

The interior of the seventh branch Kusagakure library was much different from the ninth branch's building where she often visited. For instance, the only light source in the one roomed structure came from thousands of candles perched on every existing surface; although none were currently lit. There were no open spaces on the walls, only row upon row of floor-to-ceiling bookcases squished along the walls. Beside a few cushioned chairs sat several piles of books which the librarians hadn't been able to find a place for.

After surveying her surroundings in what little light came through the library's hazy windows the seven year old child quickly ducked behind the librarian's desk just as the street lamps outside flickered and went out.

Taree let out a quiet sigh. It looked like she was stuck here until the lights came on again at five o'clock the next morning. Luck just wasn't on her side today.

-----------------------------------------

**{I am utterly sorry that this chapter came so late and is so short…Exams are evil. Very evil. Please review!}**


	8. Chapter eight: Sand Child

**{This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings**** so it won't make much sense unless you've read ****Beginnings**** first (sort of, but not really; feel free to disregard that bit)! Also I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto's ideas; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page, minor characters in this one and the plot of this story.**

**Note: hitai-ite = a ninja headband}**

-----------------------------------------

~ **Walls of Ivy** ~

~ _Chapter eight: Sand Child _~

The night appeared to drag on for eternity as Taree waited for the street lamps to reilluminate the dark that clung to Kusagakure. Her eyes darted across the blackness that surrounded her in a futile attempt to fall asleep.

_Five o'clock will never come soon enough_, the ivy haired child thought to herself. The nighttime hours seemed to pass even slower since she wasn't able to fall asleep for the thought of waking up too late and being discovered.

As her tired mind turned with apprehension she closed her eyes and forced herself to remember a positive memory, something to distract herself with if for a few moments.

--------------------------------------

_A four year old version of herself stood with her father before a small playground in Sunagakure. If it could be called a playground at all, the small blocked in area merely consisted of a swing set and a cement slab where a group of children were playing with a ball._

"_Taree could you __**please**__ for once in your life __**attempt**__ to behave? I'm already quite late for my meeting with the other diplomats and foreign medical ninja", asked her father in as kind a tone as he could manage at the moment._

_The toddler frowned and her carnation turned a shade of burnt orange as the dry wind picked up and cascading sand all around her small form. She hated this place, or more specifically all of this troublesome sand. It burned like boiling water where it clung to the seed-like markings on her arms thereby searing the exposed portion of her chakra network. _

"_Taree are you listening?"_

"_Yeah, Yeah", she replied bitterly as she futilely tried brush some of the sand from beneath her long sleeves, "Don't be a petulant child and all that jazz."_

"_And no cussing."_

"_Killjoy."_

_The scarlet haired doctor gave a worried smile, his ever present deep red Sweet Pea flower drooping slightly as he gave his only child a quick hug before sprinting off to the village hospital leaving the ivy haired girl to her own devices._

_A shadow crossed over her aqua colored eyes as she watched his outline fade into the swirls of wind-blown golden sand. How long would it be before the familiar outlines of her parents permanently disappeared? Medical ninja were always targeted by the enemy with a machine like precision, never surviving for more than two years at the most._

They are going to leave you, the only question is when_, reflected the four year old somberly; however a high pitched voice pierced her thoughts._

"_-Hey who are you?! You need a passport to travel here!"_

_The ivy haired toddler spun to see a fairly large group of Suna children behind her quietly tossing a worn leather ball to each other as they continued bombarding her with questions._

"_Where are your parents?"_

"_Why are you wearing long sleeves, do you want to get heat stroke?"_

"_You're wearing a Kusagakure hitai-ite, but you're too little to be a ninja right?"_

"_Are you a missing-nin?"_

"_What's-"_

_Taree clenched her fists in frustration as she tried to reel in her temper, only barely stopping the curse words from spilling out._

"_**.**__"_

_The crowd instantly quieted as the Hayashi spoke in a low hiss._

"_I am Hayashi, Taree of Kusagakure. My parents have my travel visa with them at the Kazekage's tower. Yes, I am a ninja, but not a missing-nin as of yet. __**Now will you stop asking me a million freaking questions?!?**__"_

_The ivy haired toddler then walked through the small crowd until she came to a rusting swing set on the opposite side of the park and sat down quickly on the worn wooden seat. The air here felt as if it were saturated with sand all being pulled towards a central location. It was then that she turned to see a child sitting quietly on the swing nearest to her. Taree couldn't recall seeing him amongst the other Suna children before. He was a few years older than herself and had messy scarlet hair that blew slightly in the desert wind, but this wasn't what the toddler discerned the most clearly. It was his sea foam green eyes that watched her cautiously from their insomnia ridden lids and the other worldly presence that hung around him that startled the ivy haired toddler. _

"_Why...are…you…staring…at…me?" finally asked the Hayashi slowly, carefully pronouncing each word individually._

_The boy's eyes widened, surprised that this strange girl from one of smaller countries was actually speaking to him without screaming, making death threats, or a combination of the two._

"_I-It told me th-that you are part of th-the earth, but I don't know what it means", he stuttered._

_Taree raised an eyebrow. How did he know about her clan ability? The Hayashi clan was usually only well known in the larger nations by gardeners and biomedical experts if at all; how did this boy know about her?_

"_What is 'it'?"_

_A frown. "I-If I tell you, you'll hate me like the villagers."_

"_How would you know that? I haven't known you for more than five minutes", she spoke in an even calmed tone._

"_B-But…" _

_A rare smile crossed the toddler's face and her burnt orange carnation changed tone to a warm violet, "It's okay the people in my village hate my guts too. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."_

_The redhead gazed at her for a moment. "The shukaku, the spirit of the sand, is inside of me."_

_The other toddler let out a small laugh like bells chiming, "I guess that would explain why there's so much sand in the air here. By the way, I never caught your name."_

"_I am Gaara, Sabaku no Gaara…"_

---------------------------------

But the rest of the memory began to fade as the seven year old drifted into slumber…

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**{Yays! New summary! Please review so you won't feel the shikaku's wrath. ^^**

**On a side note, this definately isn't the last of Gaara... *evil cackle*}**


	9. Chapter nine: Return of the Desert Rose

**{YAY! LATE CHRISTMAS PRESENT!**

**Disclaimer- This is the first of a series of prequels to ****Beginnings****...blah blah blah… Also I do not own Naruto or any of Kishimoto's ideas; however, I do own my great big list of characters on my page, minor characters in this one and the plot of this story and of coarse Taree. **

**Sorry I haven't updated in eternity [my excuse is on my page…plus my computer got another virus. *scowl*] Also! I just got the first chapters of 'Nireiki' up! }**

~ **Walls of Ivy**~

~ _Chapter nine: Return of the Desert Rose _~

_--"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." – James Baldwin--_

Through granulated sand twirling about in never ending wind a few glints of daylight touched the rooftops of Sunagakure, the village hidden in the sands. Like knives, sea foam eyes marred with loneliness and hatred cut through the dusty skies. Their owner presently perched from the rounded rooftop of one of the hundreds of sandstone buildings that littered the desert city with a predatory aura that even his father, the Kazekage, had come to fear. His unruly blood red hair was a false beacon among its dulled tan surroundings offering death in the place of safety and hatred as a substitute for benevolence. The container of the sand spirit Shukaku twisted a white carnation in his left hand mauling over the information he had received 'his teacher'.

_Teacher_, what a joke, the village of the sand had no formal ninja training program (aside from the apprentice system) and Baki had not taught him anything he considered to be of any value.

The Jounin had explained in the cold tone he reserved for the youngest of the Kazekage's three children that the trio was to be sent to Kusagakure to determine whether or not Sunagakure should aided the minor ninja village in peace negotiations with Takumigakure. Conversely, it was more a show of diplomacy to the village hidden in the grass than an actual political analysis. It was economically beneficial to assist their trading partner who brought the majority of water and other essential supplies into the land of wind. Without the connection to the seemingly powerless little village in an unindustrialized forest Suna would be at the other four great shinobi nations' mercy in less than a month.

His pale fingers gripped the colorless flower firmly as his inner demon's thoughts began to intertwine with his own.

_**Heh, humans are so weak. No matter how many wars are fought they never learn.**_

_Rarely do people in wars have any say in whether fight or not_, argued the Shukaku's host.

_**By not protesting against their circumstances they only prove how weak they are. Instead they cling to people who inevitably betray them for their own gains, like that bastard Yashamaru.**_

_Don't speak of him to me._

_**Whatever. I'm merely surprised you haven't remembered **__her._

_What are you muttering about?_

_**One of that clan who belongs to the earth, she had that peculiar flower growing from her chakra system and those vine things that obeyed her.**_

The jinchuuriki of the sands let out a predatory snarl. He remembered _her_, Hayashi no Taree. The four year old with hair like wavy tresses of ivy who had approached him three years ago at the empty swing set only a few days before the murder of his uncle. Presently Gaara allowed the second half of memory to replay itself in slow motion relearning by heart every detail.

* * *

_A rare smile crossed the toddler's face and her burnt orange carnation changed tone to a warm violet, "It's okay the people in my village hate my guts too. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."_

_The redhead gazed at her for a moment. How completely abnormal this was to him. No one ever spoke to the sand demon let alone could relate to anything in his abstract and distant world._

"_The shukaku, the spirit of the sand, is inside of me."_

_The other toddler let out a small laugh like bells chiming, "I guess that would explain why there's so much sand in the air here. By the way, I never caught your name."_

"_I am Gaara, Sabaku no Gaara…"_

_The girl offered an outstretched hand to him from her swing. "Carnation no Hayashi Taree, pleased to meet you." _

_The demon vessel stared confusedly through sea green orbs at her wondering what he was supposed to do. He had never been given such a gesture in his six years of life. _

"_Sorry, it's Kusagakure slang I guess," clarified the girl patiently, "You shake each others hand and it means 'hello'."_

_Gaara gave a nod and politely shook her hand, what an odd custom. "Kusagakure is very far away isn't it?"_

"_Yeah," she agreed, "It took four days to get here if you don't count sailing across Amegakure's inner sea. My parents are doctors actually, but they're acting as Kusa diplomats for some medical conference here about the banning of biochemical warfare. I got dragged along because I still too young to go on any real missions yet."_

"_You're a ninja?" whispered the redhead in awe, "But you're only four."_

_The ivy haired toddler sighed, "Not exactly, I passed the graduation exam a few months back, but my village has an age-cut off of five years old for Genin so I have to wait another four months before I'm 'officially' a kunoichi. But what about you, what's your family like?"_

_A morbid shadow crossed the redhead's face, "I have a sister, Temari, and a brother, Kankuro, who are older than me. Uncle Yashamaru cares for me. My mother…she is dead. And my father…the Kazekage…he…"_

_The demon container's hands came to the space above his heart. Why did his heart flood with pain whenever his thoughts came to his father, his hatred? Why couldn't he bring himself to say what he knew was fact?!_

_His sands began to spin dangerously around him picking up speed quickly._

_And just as suddenly he felt something curl lightly around his left hand. Gaara turned abruptly to eye the 'something'. It was a plant! (plant_s _to be more specific) The earthy green vines underscored by tiny carnation buds seemed to on their accord arch between Taree and Gaara; loosely weave themselves between his fingers and around his arm. But the shukaku did not approve of this. How dare his container come near one of those Hayashi traitors?! And slammed hardened sand into the vines in protest causing them to tear. _

"_No! Stop it!" called the redhead futilely. Please! Why couldn't he have just one friend? Just one person who didn't run away screaming?!_

_However Taree's vines would not be deterred. The petite flowers dotting her creeping plants bloomed releasing the warm green glow of chakra which bound itself to the plants. The Shukaku's sand sparked and fizzled were it encountered the vines, but after several failed attempts fell to the ground. _

"_It's okay Gaara," said the Hayashi child calmly, "They're just the manifestation of my chakra. That's the Hayashi clan's kekkei genkai, _Ikeru Chi_. The vines obey what I ask of them, like your sand, and try to protect me if I am in danger. The plants are just extensions of limbs in a way."_

_A sad sigh. _

"_Except no one else sees it that way. Everyone is either afraid that I'll lose control and hurt them or they're angry because I'm different."_

_The girl now spoke in a quiet whisper, "But we're still humans right? Do our abilities make us any less real than anyone else? I wish I knew…"_

* * *

Yes. Gaara remembered the girl who belonged to the earth. The four year old who lived in Kusagakure if she was still alive at all. The only person the red haired child had ever been able to relate to in his heartbreaking nine years of life.

A single identical thought passed through the demon of the sand and its jinchuuriki.

_**You will…**_

_I will…_

_**Kill **__her._

--xXx--

_--"A child of five would understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five." –Groucho Marx--_

Bright, why was it so bright?

Taree turned from the burning sun light that glared through the front windows-

…wait a minute…SUN LIGHT?!?!

The Hayashi child instantly sat bolt upright eyes wide open and carnation blazing. She needed to leave before five o'clock and the sun rises at six, so…oh crap, how late was she and when did this library open on Saturdays?

"Glad to see you're done sawing logs, _Carnation-chan_."

She crooked her head slightly as her tired eyes hunted for who ever had discovered her little forced entry. Only someone of her clan would recognize the significance of her flower and its meaning and no one but the younger generation of Hayashi ever used honorifics around her if at all.

A quieter feminine voice spoke now conversing with the other clan member.

"Peony-kun, should we call the civilian law enforcement?"

"No, this is a clan matter and we should keep it that way."

"Of course Aniki."

Her aqua orbs now dizzily focused on her two relatives who sat watching her interestedly. On the right balancing agilely on the arm of a chair was a boy five years her elder. He had messy dark chocolate colored hair that highlighted his pale rose eyes and hot pink peony flower balancing in his curled locks. Tied sideways around his head in bandana fashion was his Kusagakure hitai-ate only marred by a tiny vertical scrape along the rounded edge. Sitting peacefully beside him on the wooden floor was a girl of roughly the same age, but shorter stature. Of her sable eyes only one was present the other had been replaced by a blooming white camellia flower. Contrasting this was her violet tresses loosely kept by three identical cherry red clips. Her ninja hitai-ate was too placed in an unorthodox manner, attached firmly around her right shoulder. She had a thinly lipped smile on her face presently as if she was a cat who had caught its prey.

"Good morning Tsubakiko-_chan_, Botan-_kun_," hissed Taree barely raining in her temper.

The girl gasped in mock surprise, "Well isn't this interesting? A carnation who isn't a complete spitfire, how utterly odd."

The ivy haired child bit her lower lip tasting blood as she held in a particularly violent curse.

"My, it seems you've spoken too soon Imouto-chan," snickered the other as their captive's face began to turn slightly red in irritation.

'_In…Out…In…Out_,'Taree fumed, '_Just keep your breathing steady and you'll calm down. Just in, and out…_'

Her breathing gradually slowed to a more even pace and the manifestation of her kekkei genkai faded from an autumn leaf orange to a more neutral light grey. She inhaled calmly and deeply several more times before speaking.

"What the hell do you want," yet it came out as more of a statement than a question.

The girl tilted her head to one side her light smirk growing and dark pupil dilating. She began twirling a strand of her blue-violet hair out of habit, the edges of her flower becoming tinged with a pale dusty color mimicking Taree's own.

"Actually it is what _I_ can do for _you_ Carnation-chan. For you see my 'second sight' has been trailing you as of late and my visions have been quite interesting to say the least."

This seemed plausible to the renegade carnation. The materialization of the camellia in a Hayashi child was often mysterious and almost otherworldly in scope to the other expressions of their blood line. Unlike the other 'flower children' the tsubaki blossoms grew directly from the host's skin in most peculiar ways; replacing a defective limb, entangling their inner organs, or bursting from an empty eye socket in Tsubakiko's case. This uniqueness of the ability it granted was also quite bizarre. The camellia allowed a host a hold in the unwritten future via their replaced body part. For example the violette before Taree was able to see a limited distance into the coming future with her white camellia eye. No one was quite sure exactly what she saw however, she had a positively uncanny accuracy.

"What do you mean?"

The host of the camellia's eye now spoke in a hushed tone so only the pair could listen to her valuable insights.

"If I were you I'd keep three very important things in mind."

"And they are…?" asked the carnation skeptically through awkward silence.

Tsubakiko continued, "One; when the vessel appears turn to your left. The second; wait for the mortician when the unexpected becomes expected. And the third; beware the snake's puppet at all costs or he will execute you and your companion."

The room suddenly fell into a long silence as the violette gazed at Taree with a somber yet expectant expression then turned to her fraternal twin and seemed to hold a soundless argument with him as to whether she had said too much to the outcast of their clan.

Meanwhile Taree closed her half-lidded aqua eyes in thought. Who was the vessel? Was she supposed to turn to the left to avoid something? And how the hell was she supposed to stop a 'puppet of the snake' when she didn't know who he or she was?! Some help these two were…

"And by the way," added Botan discourteously, "Hang around our post any longer and our sensei and teammate going to be a lot less forgiving than we are."

The ivy haired girl shot the brunette a venomous glare only to receive a satisfied leer in return. So that's why the twin cousins of hers had given her some advice; they were waiting for the rest of their squad to arrive at their established meeting place so she would be thoroughly interrogated by their teacher and possibly thrown in juvenile detention for trespassing on an established village base. Whoever had said '_Govern a family as you would cook a small fish -- very gently_'obviously had never met a member of the Hayashi clan. As she stood up to leave the smaller of the two siblings called after her in a stoic whisper that sent a chill up Taree's spine, "_Watch out, a black widow is coming for you_." Okay, it was official; her relatives were out of their fucking minds. Not that she was one to talk, no one escaped the blood soaked trenches of the war fields unscathed and Hayashi Taree had definitely received her share of scarring.

Now as she stood teetering in the doorframe of the library, morning sunlight streaming in around her the child felt an awful sense that something was about to happen. Something not even the impenetrable wall of Kusagakure could hold back. Her walls of ivy were about to coming crashing down.

* * *

**{****Story Notes & Others****-**

**Sunagakure: **the sand village

**Ikeru Chi: **[_living earth_] the kekkei genkai of the Hayashi clan. It is known to manifest in hundreds of different varieties varying from individual to individual in the form of a clan member's 'personal flower' and their chakra applications.

**Symbology: **Any guesses so far?

**Gaara and hatred: **In _Walls of Ivy_ Gaara is nine years old (two years older than Taree). My guess is that the Yashamaru incident happened when he was six. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong on this.) So in the present he's quite psychologically unstable. Taree's little pep talk failed to prevent any of the side effects of Yashamaru's death. In regards to '_I want to kill Taree_' idea yes, he's totally serious. As we see in the Chunin Exam Arc Gaara wanted to kill Naruto, Sasuke and various others because they were similar to himself. Through his logic Taree is also on this list of people.

**Taree: **In many regards she is the Gaara that almost was. Like the shukaku jinchuuriki she is hated by nearly everyone (except for Mai, who is a kindergartener, and Midori, who is her land lord. So they don't count.) Also she has lost her 'important people', her parents, and witnessed their painful last moments. However there is one crucial difference between the two. Taree came to the conclusion that killing the villagers will not solve her problems. It's great for stress relief, but in the end doesn't make her past any less painful. So why does she fight? Sorry! Can't tell yet!

**Et cetera: **Any questions? Comments? Flames? It's what the review button is for people!


	10. UPDATE

**UPDATES on Each Story's Status****- This will be blanket posted on all of the stories mentioned before they are deleted/rewritten/Hiatus'd.**

Right now I'm busy going through all of my stories to see what could/should be continued/rewritten, or scrapped. If there is a story you would like me to continue please review or message me about it. Without feedback I don't know if anyone actually reads or likes my stories.

Nireiki, or as I plan to rename it, Half-Life is staying, but is being rewritten. I feel like I left a lot of missed opertunities to expand Madara and Naruto as well as the story arcs. Before I begin posting the rewrite though, I plan to fully map out several of the plot arcs and make sketchs for the middle and end. (Usually I write by the seat of my pants so this may take a while...)

So far, I plan to put Beginnings on a permanent hiatus. I haven't touched it in years and have found irresolvable problems with it during re-reading. It has a very weak plot (if any), suffers from OC overload, and has an abundence of OOCness in the few canon characters in it. Considering how horrible it is, I'm really surprised that I keep getting favorites, alerts, and reviews for it.

Walls of Ivy is also slated for a permanent hiatus; however, my reasoning behind this is a bit different. While it also suffers from an abundance of OCs, the plot is salvageable and parts of it are being reworked into the Nireiki/Half-Life rewrite. Despite its flaws I really like the wartime setting and want to write more from Taree's perspective.

Rhapsody is also going to reworked into Nireiki/Half-Life. This is mainly due to the murder/mystery and horror elements that I had planned for the its main arc, but never got around to writing. Some problems I had with this were the overly slow plot development and abundance of OCs too early in the story. Taru's character seems kind of bland and could be better expanded in a different context.

Unlike its predecessor Permafrost, I plan to keep Frozen. I do plan to shift from my original plotline though. Since I only ever posted the first chapter of Frozen, it can easily be rewritten without needing to be reposted. I really like how the first chapter came out and don't plan to rewrite it. It may be a while before I start updates on this though, due to the massive restructuring of the plot and Kishimoto unveiling Kabuto's screwed up past.

In other news I've had a oneshot in the works for a few months featuring Tobi and Sakura. It's fairly close to canon and is firmly in the horror category. It will probably be posted within a month or two. It's tentatively titled "Descendant."


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